Five for the Week

109. La Surprise De Handa (Handa’s Surprise) by Eileen Browne (in French and English)

Handa puts fruit in her basket for her friend and sets off to meet her friend. On the way, Handa imagines what fruit her friend will prefer, all the while, unknown to her, animals are stealing the very fruits she contemplates. By the time she nears her friend’s house, her basket is empty. Luckily a wayward goat runs into a tangerine tree, refilling Handa’s basket. And, come to find out, tangerines are the very fruit that Handa’s friend loves best.

Here’s the surprise for me: I can read French! Mind you, I’ve been learning French for only, oh, maybe four months, but reading it is much, much easier than reading Spanish, which I’ve been learning for about fifteen years.

110. Poil de Carotte by Jules Renard

People who loathe children’s books often do so because they find the stories in them, the characters in them, insipid. Here, then, is a book for those: Poil de Carotte. Poil de Carotte as well as the family of Poil de Carotte are the real thing, fussy, feuding, calling names, having favorites, being lazy, forcing others to do one’s work, full of greed and cruelty and meanness. No sweet, sappy story here. And, astonishingly, first published in 1893. Refreshingly bleak, but not for those in search of the happy stories of yesteryear.

111. 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman

We all want to be happier, more creative, less stressed, and better parents, and we all want to be these things right now. Well, why not? Research about how to be a better person is out there, so why not write a book with the best quick ways to be better, ideas that can change a person in one minute or less? So went the thinking of Wiseman in creating this book.

My focus for the year is how to be happier, so I will share these tips here, in hopes of remembering them and practicing them in my own life. The power of positive thinking, for example, is a myth; instead, Wiseman proposes distraction. Also, writing about events is helpful in coming to terms with what happens. Keeping a list of things for which one is grateful led to greater happiness. Use money to buy experiences and not things; this leads to happiness. And, finally, “fake it till you feel it” is, apparently, quite valid.

112. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

I must have had twenty people tell me this book is their favorite book ever. One thousand four hundred pages seemed like a lot, so I decided to go abridged. Not sure one should ever try abridged and translated. (When Marius, in the last third of the story, finds a sign saying “Remove”, for example, I was completely lost. Not “remove”, I learned later, but “go away”.)

What a story, nevertheless. The plot centers on a young man, Valjean, who steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s family and is thrown in prison for this. Once released, Valjean is denied work, for he must present a passport tainted by his time in prison. A priest finds him in the streets and takes him in. Valjean steals the valuable objects from the church and runs away, but he is captured. When confronted by the priest, the priest denies Valjean stole the objects and even gives Valjean additional items, reminding Valjean of a (false) promise he made to the priest to turn his life around.

If this intrigues, then read the whole novel. It’s a series of these sorts of reversals and twists of fortune and little acts of grace. Absolutely fascinating.

113. Anagrams by Lorrie Moore

Gerard and Benna. Benna loves Gerard. No, Benna and Gerard are friends. No, Benna and Gerard are neighbors.

Thus, this novel. The identities of Benna and Gerard ebb and flow through this novel, changing in each chapter, each subchapter. A daughter appears, but, no, she is an illusion. A friend appears, but, no, she, too, is imaginary. Or are they?

Nothing is clear in this novel of relationships and meaning. A good choice for a re-reading, I think, and discussion.

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